Police in London have ruled 600 drivers must pay fines incurred after they were caught speeding because they saw a fake speed limit sign on a road, and wrongly drove too fast along it.

The London Evening Standard reports Police say the 50 mph sign was installed on the A20 near Sidcup by an “unauthorised third party” last month after the speed limit was cut from 70 to 40 mph because of flooding.

A Scotland Yard spokesman told the newspaper: “Our prosecutions team, which deals with speeding offences, has taken legal advice and the location of the 50mph sign would not have impacted the enforcement.”

The report added that the force believes if a motorist was to have travelled through the section signed as 40mph at the maximum permitted speed of 40mph, then speeded up to 50mph after seeing the fake sign, their average speed on the section would not have resulted in them being issued with a speeding ticket.

(File Picture – Yay Images)